Earlier this month, OC's best bars celebrated Negroni Week, slinging out their version of the legendarily bitter cocktail. All the usual suspects played along–Anepalco's, 320 Main, Little Sparrow, Broadway, and so many others. But only Pizzeria Ortica is going to pay it forward by instituting a full-scale Negroni menu from here until all the Campari on earth is gone.
Bartenders Joel Caruso and Aristotle Altstaetter just took the hooch they created for Negroni Week, and made it part of their spectacular roster.
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They're not on the regular drinks menu, so just ask them to see the list of seven Negronis, classified by days of the week. I've had two: one tequila-based (zesty), and the Sunday negroni of Zaya rum, Campari, and Gran Classico bitters that Caruso and Altstaetter say tastes like cherry cola but I insist zings like listening to Hector Lavoe and Dean Martin at the same time. Kudos to Caruso and Altstaetter for their boozy inspiration, and may I suggest a Negroni-based Negroni for after-hours? Okay, no…
